


Dis/connect

by life42universe



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blangst, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29808126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/life42universe/pseuds/life42universe
Summary: When Kurt answers an ad for a man looking for a 'companion' in a ridiculously cheap brownstone in Brooklyn, all he can hope is that it isn't some weird sex thing. What he finds instead is Blaine, a complicated man getting over a complicated past, who needs someone like Kurt to help him connect to the world again.TW for mental health issues. Let me know if you'd like me to tag/add specifics in the notes.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel
Comments: 18
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back!
> 
> It has been a WHILE since I've written anything for this fandom. I've been off working on some original works that I'm extremely proud of, but that took a ton of time and effort.
> 
> This is a different sort of story than I've written before. It's near and dear to my heart and has been on my mind for a while. The upload schedule is going to be extremely sporadic for personal reasons. 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy this very short chapter!

**In search of a roommate and companion for a two-bedroom brownstone in Brooklyn. Utilities and internet included in $500 rent. Fridge and pantry will be stocked. Looking for someone to share space with. Doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, but you must be comfortable with a gay man as a roommate. You must be clean, and respectful. I haven’t lived with anyone in a long time, so there may be an adjustment period. Interview required before you can move in. Serious inquiries only.**

Kurt stared at the ad for what felt like hours. It was a weird sex thing. It had to be a weird sex thing. $500 a month living in a brownstone in Brooklyn? Hell, who even asked for a companion if they didn’t mean it as a weird sex thing?

Glass smashed in the kitchen, deafening through the curtain walls of his bedroom. Rachel shouted something unintelligible and stomped through the room, Santana right behind her screaming in Spanish.

Kurt couldn’t stay here anymore. He was going insane. His roommates were driving him insane. In a brownstone, he’d have a bedroom. With walls. Actual, honest-to-god walls. Hopefully, thick walls.

“How DARE you!” Rachel was on the verge of yet another meltdown. 

What would happen next was painfully obvious. The indignant yell that only Rachel could muster at a decibel that would threaten to puncture his eardrums. Then, the sobbing. Oh, the sobbing. A night of snotty tissues and Rachel falling asleep in his bed. Then a morning spent calming Santana and keeping her away from sharp objects. Yet another roommate meeting.

Maybe it wasn’t a weird sex thing.

He grabbed his phone and texted the number.

It said an interview was necessary. Kurt was an excellent judge of character. He’d meet the guy crazy or desperate enough to be looking for a ‘companion’ on the internet, and if it was a weird sex thing, he’d just turn it down.

Another shriek, the sound of cloth ripping, and Santana’s voice boomed through the loft. “You ripped down the curtains to my BEDROOM?”

Well, if it was a sex thing, he’d probably turn it down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are THE SWEETEST and I have MISSED YOU SO MUCH!
> 
> Okay, okay, I'm done. But thank you for coming back to read another story of mine, or welcome if you're new! Thank you all so much for the comments and the kudos and spending some more of your precious time with me. I missed this fandom, and y'all most of all.
> 
> Alright, alright, cheesiness done. Enjoy!

Kurt took a deep breath and straightened his tie in the coffee shop window reflection. He looked good. Light blue button-up, grey vest, dark blue tie, black pants, and the leather boots he’d finally splurged on. It was one of his best outfits. And it wasn’t exactly subtle. Whoever this guy was, he clearly didn’t want a roommate with problems with gay men. Kurt could be clocked from a mile away.

He pulled out his phone and checked the texts again. 12 o’clock. One of the few tiny coffee shops in the city Kurt hadn’t tried, yet. The place was well-lit, public. If this was a kidnapping attempt, it wasn’t going to be easy. The guy had been responsive, polite, careful. It all seemed legit.

Kurt shook his head, tucked his phone away, and pushed through the doors. There was no point being nervous. The guy was either a crazed killer or he wasn’t. Standing around outside wasn’t going to prove anything. 

The coffee shop was quiet. Full enough that Kurt wasn’t nervous about meeting a stranger, empty enough that their conversation would be private. Mismatched tables and chairs were strewn across the floor, with couches shoved against the walls. 

Kurt spotted a guy sitting alone at a soda shop style table, staring at his phone. He was cute. Gorgeous, really. Dark hair a little too plastered to his head with gel. He wore a simple, well-tailored suit and a pair of reading glasses that hid dark, intense eyes. His expression was oddly blank, but maybe he was nervous.

Not that Kurt was nervous. Not at all.

Coffee in hand, Kurt stepped up to the table. “Blaine?” he asked, holding out his hand, “I’m Kurt.”

Blaine jolted, looking up with an expression of almost comical surprise. Something else flickered over his face, something Kurt didn’t have time to place, and then it was gone. A charming, easy smile replaced it that had Kurt grinning in seconds. He’d been wrong, before. Blaine wasn’t just gorgeous, he was stunning. His amber eyes were bright as he took Kurt’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you. Please, have a seat.” 

He gestured to the chair and didn’t sit until Kurt sat, first. Manners. From a random stranger in New York. Kurt might be swooning.

“So,” Kurt said as he settled into his chair, “I assume this is the infamous interview from the posting.”

Blaine’s nose wrinkled in a ridiculously adorable way and he nodded. “I need to make sure that we’ll be a good fit. I’d like to get to know you a bit, see how we might get along.”

Kurt smiled. “Of course. It would be downright irresponsible to start living with a stranger without asking any questions.”

“Exactly,” Blaine answered with an easy confidence that set Kurt’s (nonexistent) nerves at ease. “So, tell me a bit about yourself, Kurt.”

Kurt was taken aback, though he shouldn’t be. Of course the first question was talking about himself. It had been in every job interview he’d ever had. Why not an interview for a roommate? Fingers crossed that this was just about being a roommate.

“Oh.” He sipped his coffee to buy time. “Well, I work at Vogue.com and have since I arrived in the city… well, a few years ago. I love fashion and Broadway and cars, though I haven’t driven my baby in a while. One of the few downsides of the city. Since I moved out here, I’ve been in a loft in Bushwick with two roommates who are pretty much constantly trying to kill each other. It’s like living with two feral cats, honestly. I- um, well, I have a great dad, stepmom, and stepbrother back in Ohio. I was in glee club there for years.” He laughed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t really prepared for the question. Anything in particular you’d like to know?”

Blaine stared at Kurt like he was the only thing in the room. It was flattering. And a little intimidating. Kurt had never seen anyone hyperfocus on a stranger like that. 

“That’s perfect,” Blaine said with a wave of his hand. “I actually grew up in Ohio, too. And I was in show choir, believe it or not. Dalton Academy Warblers.”

Kurt laughed. “Wow, small world! Warblers… Isn’t that the a cappella choir from Westerville?” He tilted his head and tried to picture the man in front of him without the glasses. “Oh my God, you’re the lead singer! Well, you were.”

Blaine’s eyebrows raised. “Wow. You saw us perform all those years ago and you still remember?” 

Kurt’s cheeks burned. Of course he remembered. The guy had been a complete dream, and he’d heard amazing things about Dalton. If money hadn’t been quite so tight, he may have even transferred there. “Your version of Teenage Dream the year we competed against you was incredible.”

“Thanks,” Blaine’s smile lit up the room. “That was one of my personal favorites. I love those guys.”

“So, I assume you sing or perform for a living? Broadway? Off-Broadway?”

Blaine laughed and stirred his coffee, breaking eye contact. “Ah, no, actually. I still sing some on my own, but I haven’t performed in front of anyone for years. I work in talent management, on the business side. It’s pretty boring, honestly. Nothing like working at Vogue, I’m sure.”

Kurt shrugged. “Sounds fun to me. And clearly it’s working for you, if you can afford a place in Brooklyn.”

Blaine nodded. “Thank you. It’s a job, and I enjoy it.” 

Kurt’s coffee shook on the table, little ripples flowing to the edges of his cup. With a glance, he realized Blaine’s leg was bouncing under his chair. 

“So,” Blaine cleared his throat and met Kurt’s eyes, his own steady, “I need to know how you feel about living with me. I’m gay.” 

Kurt smiled softly. “That’s not a problem at all. I’m gay, too.” He thought that was obvious. He gestured to his outfit. “Really, do you think straight men dress this well?” Still, it was sweet that Blaine wasn’t assuming. 

Blaine’s expression softened. “I thought you might be,” he admitted. “But I need to be sure that this is an arrangement that’s not going to make you… uncomfortable.”

Kurt tipped his head. “Please don’t think I’m rude, but can I ask you a slightly uncomfortable question?”

Blaine gestured for Kurt to continue, sipping his coffee.

“Is this a weird sex thing?”

Blaine choked, and Kurt flinched away in case hot coffee flew across the room. The man coughed, clapping a hand to his chest and struggling for air. He held up a hand when Kurt tried to sputter an apology.

“No!” Blaine shook his head. “No, no, I promise you, it is not a weird sex thing. Or a sex thing at all. It’s not--Oh, God. It’s the companion thing, isn’t it? I knew I should have phrased that differently, but it’s a weird situation.” 

Blaine dabbed at his shirt and the little coffee stain that should really annoy Kurt more than it did. He closed his eyes for a moment. “I… I moved into the brownstone on my own during my freshman year at NYU. I’ve lived alone for seven years. I- um, I’ve been working on some…” 

He took a breath, and Kurt was amazed at the difference in him. He kept biting his lip, fidgeting with the napkin. Miles away from the confident man he’d been a moment ago.   
“I’ve been working on myself. And I’ve realized that I’m not very good at relationships. Friendships,” he looked to Kurt to make sure he understood. “So I’m trying to ease myself back into it. I thought a roommate might be the right place to start.”

Kurt had a hard time believing this guy could be bad with people. From their brief conversation, he was polite, funny, charming. Until he’d nearly choked to death on his coffee, the smile had never left his face. 

“Well, I think that I could definitely be that person,” Kurt said with a smile. “I tend to be a bit of a neat freak and like organizing. But I can keep that to my area of the brownstone. I don’t mind helping out with the cleaning and the cooking. We can hang out together or each do our own thing, either way.”

Blaine nodded. “That honestly sounds perfect.” And just like that, the smile and easygoing demeanor were back. Maybe Kurt had imagined Blaine’s nerves. Projecting was totally a thing, right? 

“I have a few more interested people and interviews lined up, so I’ll have to see what happens. But how could I deny another Ohioan turned New Yorker?”  
Kurt laughed. “Of course. We Ohio gays have to stick together.” 

Blaine’s lip twitched in something that might have been a flinch or a smile. “We do,” he said quietly. He cleared his throat, dabbing at the stain again. “So, I’ll text you when I have a little more information, yeah?”

Kurt beamed. “I’d love that.” This was insane. Cheap rent in Brooklyn with a gorgeous guy who was pretty much the definition of perfect. How could anything be better?

As he slipped away from the shop after a last handshake and the promise to keep texting either way, Kurt glanced back at Blaine. His leg bounced like mad under the table. His left hand tapped the table in an odd, uneven rhythm as his right scrolled through his phone. He looked small. Unremarkable. Anything but the smooth, eager young man Kurt had just been talking to. 

Huh.


End file.
